Windows Archives - Jonathan Crozier

How to get the Local AppData directory for all Windows users within a .NET application

Local AppData is a directory within the Windows operating system where software applications can store data that is specific to the current user. Getting the location of the Local AppData directory for the current user within a .NET application is straightforward. However, currently, there isn’t a .NET API that allows you to get the Local…

Discover DevToys – Making your daily developer tasks easier

InTools

Recently I came across a tool for Windows that has helped to improve my productivity as a software developer. The tool is called DevToys and it is a very slick and polished, yet simple and streamlined app that is packed full of features. If you constantly find yourself searching for online encoders and hash generators,…

How to stop and start IIS websites using C#

InProgramming

IIS (Internet Information Services) remains a widely used web server for hosting websites, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites, and other applications on Windows servers. While the graphical IIS Manager interface is great for setting things up initially and for providing a visual overview of your web configuration, there are also some great use cases for…

Monitoring application debug output with DebugView

InProgramming

Once your applications are running in a production environment, it is important to be able to monitor what is happening under the hood. Quite often this is achieved by logging output to a file, to a database, or to some other medium. However, it is also possible to intercept live debug and trace output using…

How to debug a .NET Windows Service from Visual Studio

InProgramming

While developing a Windows Service, it is important to be able to debug it like you would a regular desktop or web application. Debugging Windows Services isn’t quite as straightforward as debugging standard Windows, Console, or Web applications. However, when developing a .NET Windows Service it isn’t difficult to set up your project to support…

How to download files using C#

InProgramming

Downloading files programmatically is a common task that most programming languages expose different APIs for. I believe it is useful to have examples to refer to for how to accomplish this in your language of choice, both synchronously and asynchronously. This article covers how to download files with C# using the classes and methods that…

How to make a self-destructing file

InScripting

Have you ever wanted (or needed) to make a file that self-destructs after it has been opened? There are a number of ways to implement this, including some off-the-shelf tools. However, often a custom solution that can be tailored to a specific use case is what is required. This article covers a simple means of…

Working with processes using C#

InProgramming

As software developers, working with processes is something that we frequently need to do. Whether it’s checking if a specific process is running, stopping a process, or creating a new process, it is useful to have a reference point for how to accomplish each of these tasks. In the sections below, I’m going to cover…

Working with User Account Control in .NET apps

InSecurity

Sometimes when you are developing a Windows app you’ll find the need to run the application as a different user, often as the administrator. Windows features a security mechanism called ‘User Account Control’ which prevents applications from launching with elevated privileges without the user’s consent. In this article, I explain how User Account Control works…

Automate repetitive tasks with your new friend AutoIt

InScripting

Automation is becoming increasingly prevalent in each of our lives and it is the key to increasing both business profitability and personal productivity. As a software developer, it is important to seek out ways to improve efficiency when dealing with repetitive day-to-day tasks or when a potentially time-consuming manual process comes across our path. In…

Tag: Windows

How to get the Local AppData directory for all Windows users within a .NET application

Discover DevToys – Making your daily developer tasks easier

How to stop and start IIS websites using C#

Monitoring application debug output with DebugView

How to debug a .NET Windows Service from Visual Studio

How to download files using C#

How to make a self-destructing file

Working with processes using C#

Working with User Account Control in .NET apps

Automate repetitive tasks with your new friend AutoIt

How to catch and parse a SQL Server Duplicate Key Exception

How to publish a .NET application as a standalone executable file

Encrypt directories and file names within a zip archive using 7-Zip